Chapter 17
It’s time I tell my mate about me. I don’t care what the High Priestess said—she was wrong about me never having a Fated Mate.
He was caned so viciously the day he dared to mention it, he had to be helped back to his room because he couldn’t walk.
Later that night, his mother snuck into his room, dried his tears and coated the bloody marks with a soothing salve to minimize the pain, but the scars were still there, each a reminder of that punishment along with hundreds of others.
He hated those scars, until his mother explained his Fated Mate would view them as a testament to his bravery.
Now he regarded them the same way—as his determination to persevere against evil.
After listening to his mate that afternoon, David knew why the Fates had given him Zane and he said a prayer of thanks to them as he was tending to the fire.
Finally, he would be safe—safe from those who wanted to harm or use him and, if his mate agreed to help him, he might be able to save everyone.
~/~/~/~/~
“Macushla, when are we going to see Brian?” asked Kieran, while they were riding back to the hotel from the Wolf Pack Pub.
“Tonight,” Logan replied. “First, I want to see what Dylon and Slate can find out about Antonio, now that we have his last name.” Hauling his mate up on his lap, Logan said, “So when were you going to tell me about the wedding?”
“Right now,” Kieran laughed. “Can you believe it? Norman proposed to Theo and I get to marry them!”
“I can’t wait to see you standing there, in your ceremonial robe, joining your two best friends in marriage. I’m going to take lots of pictures to show our squirt.”
“Oh, my gods, macushla, I need to make my robe. The ones my Shaman made for me were trashed by my parents when I was sold. It will take me a while to hand sew the symbols. Do you know where I can find gold thread…although I could use silver, I guess, but I want my friends to have the best. I better put that at the top of my list which I started right now since Theo wants me to help him plan the wedding. Do you think you can design a gazebo I can wrap in roses, maybe white but maybe not? Hey, I have a great idea…why don’t you design one for their wedding out of branches like they’re in the woods and I can make it a Woodland theme wedding?
Oh, macushla, I can just picture it now, pink roses twined around the wooden branches with a candle chandelier hanging from the center.
It can take place at dusk, with lots of hanging candles flickering in the light breeze, the sky streaked with pink, the faint moon rising in the sky, and my two best friends, dressed in deep brown suits…
that will complement their eyes, you know…
with pink ties, and deep pink shirts as they become husband and husband. Oh my, it will be so swoon worthy!”
“Uh huh, it does sound beautiful but maybe you should run it past them first, just in case they have some additional ideas.”
“I will, I promise, macushla, it’s just that my mind is going a mile-a-minute thinking about all the possibilities.”
Wrapping his arms around Kieran, Logan murmured, “That’s what I love about you. So think away. I know Theo and Norman will be very happy with whatever you come up with.”
“I hope so,” Kieran said, a bit of worry evident in his voice.
“I know so,” Logan said firmly.
“That isn’t the only thing I’m worried about, macushla.
Bears mate in threes, so what happens when their other Fated Mate shows up and finds out Theo and Norman are married?
I didn’t ask them that, because ever since their horrible time with Arald, they’ve rejected the concept of Fated Mates because of what happened when Norman came out to his parents, but I know they have one and how do you think he’s going to feel when he finds out Theo and Norm didn’t wait for him?
Will Theo get angry at Norman for insisting they get married?
I don’t know what to do about it and, as much as I’m happy my friends are happy, I just worry about them making a mistake by rushing to get married.
Don’t tell me to talk to them because I won’t.
My best friends are happy for the first time in a really long time and I won’t take that away from them.
” Exhausted by his rambling narrative, Kieran sighed and waited for his mate to unscramble all the issues and come up with some answers.
“Well,” said Logan thoughtfully, “I would never suggest you bring this up to them, but I think Cody and Dylon should. I agree with you, but I also know what they went through, so as far as I’m concerned, they should seize happiness with both hands and enjoy it.
The other thing is this, if and when their other Fated Mate shows up, I don’t believe he’ll begrudge Theo and Norman’s marriage once he understands why they did it without waiting for him.
Their lives were on hold long enough when they were prisoners and they’ve earned the right to be happy. ”
“I hope so, macushla. Oh, here we are!”
~/~/~/~/~
Drumming her long, blood-red fingernails on the desk, the High Priestess was fuming. What was taking so long? Snatching up her phone and punching in a number, she waited until he answered. “What happened? Do you have him?” she asked.
“Well, hello to you, too, Brenda.”
“Hush, you know better than to say that,” Brenda said, looking around furtively.
“Then use a better tone with me. I’m not here to take your shit since it was your fault, he escaped in the first place. We should have brought him back from Scotland.
Michael had a point, she thought, but he conveniently left out the part where he had agreed with her plan. “That’s all water under the bridge. Now did your man get David?”
“No and the chance of him succeeding is nil, since he terminated himself after he was captured.”
“Fuck!”
“Tsk, tsk, is that any kind of language for the High Priestess to be using?”
“Fuck off. Where is David now?”
“Not at the hotel any longer but I should know shortly.”
“Good. Make sure you don’t fuck it up again. You have to get him before he’s claimed…otherwise he’s worthless to us and that means twenty fucking years down the fucking drain all because you can’t do a fucking job right.”
“Look bitch, get off my case. This whole fuckup is on your shoulders so grow a pair and assume responsibility for the position we’re in now. And the next time you call me, make sure you pull in your claws and horns before opening your mouth.”
Frozen with anger after Michael ended the call, Brenda was shocked at the way he’d spoken to her but couldn’t blame him—too much, anyway, but he better not do it again.
She set her phone down, her mind busily figuring out another plan of attack.
Booting up her computer, she pulled up a map and, after entering a password, clicked on ‘Connect’.
~/~/~/~/~
Snapping a picture of the receipt that had Antonio’s last name, Logan emailed it to Jackson and texted Slate who, within a minute, knocked on his suite’s door and entered.
“What did you find out?” asked Logan.
“My people are working on the bio-tracker, trying to find the frequency it was using. Once we have that, it’ll be easy to see if there are any others near us and where they are, and then Groose can nab ‘em. What else did Morgan tell you?”
“Antonio had been stalking David for months…he showed me the video…and there was a woman looking for him but he doesn’t know anything about her.”
“Any idea where David and Zane are?”
“No, but Kieran and I are planning to see a friend of David’s when it’s dark.”
“You’re flying there?”
“Yes. Do you want to come along?”
“I do and so does my mate who’s worried sick about Zane.”
“Dakota and Zane are very close…always have been,” said Logan
“Did you know Norman proposed to Theo?”
“Yup, Kieran told me. Who told you?”
“Theo! He asked Dakota to be his best man. I thought Kieran was his best friend.”
“He is,” affirmed Logan, “but since Kieran is going to perform the wedding, Dakota is the logical choice since Theo is close to him.”
“Oh, well, okay then,” said Slate. “I just didn’t want any hard feelings about Dakota being asked and not Kieran.”
“No worries, mate!” Logan laughed. “Kieran is over the moon about officiating at his first wedding.”
“Thanks,” said Slate. “I just want to eliminate all the stress I can for Dakota, especially with all he’s been through lately.”
Logan thought for a second before asking, “How is Dakota? Any symptoms yet? Hey, he should talk to Jackson about what to expect. It might ease your worry, too.”
“Good idea. We’ll be home in a few days so we can do it then.”
“Have Colton and Ian examined him yet?”
“No, but I guess they should,” Slate replied. “Do you think they’d mind if I asked them to do it while they are on vacation?”
“Are you shittin’ me?” smirked Logan. “Those two have medical genes and will never turn down a chance to use them. In fact, I’ll bet you Colton is fretting because he hasn’t examined Dakota yet. Do my brother a favor and put him out of his misery…take Dakota to him and let Colton have at him.”
Chuckling, Slate said, “I promise. Now, you want to tell me why my father is here?”
~/~/~/~/~
“If I understand you, I’m naked when you claim me?” asked David.
“Yup. See, no robes, nothing to memorize, just biting each other.”
“Then why do I need to be naked?”
“Because we’ll be fucking and it’s easier if we’re naked.”
“You mean we’re having sex when we bite each other?”
“Yeah, babe, that’s a claiming. What did you think it was?”
David looked perplexed. “I never thought about it once the High Priestess told me I’d never have a Fated Mate. Are you sure that’s all we have to do? It doesn’t sound right. Don’t we have to declare our intentions to each other? You know make promises, swear on blood, something like that?”
“No, babe, none of that. That’s what biting each other does. I’ll wear your mark and vice versa. Every shifter will know we are Fated Mates. Trust me.”
“I do trust you but I thought there was more to it…an announcement maybe, or blessed by the High Shaman…it just seems too simple to bind us together for our lives.”
“Well, if you want, after we claim each other, Kieran can bless us, I guess.”
“When we bite each other, will you get your gift?”
“I don’t know. Oracle will tell me.” Then Zane, sensing his mate was troubled, asked, “Babe, what are you uneasy about?”
David hung his head, unwilling for his mate to see his fear.
What if I do something wrong when we’re doing sex?
Will the claiming fail? How will I know if I’m doing something wrong when I’ve never done it before?
For that matter, how do we have sex? I don’t understand this at all.
Why can’t we just bite each other without the sex?
Zane looked at David, wondering what his mate’s problem was about the claiming.
It was so simple and straightforward but David appeared to be very confused.
About the biting? What’s so hard to understand about…
oh fuck…that’s right, he’s never had sex before and doesn’t know what to do!
“Babe, would you please look at me?” he asked, softly.
David reluctantly raised his eyes until he was staring into his mate’s, unsure what was to happen now.
“Babe, have you ever had sex with a man?”
Shaking his head, David’s face turned bright red, embarrassed at having to admit his ignorance.
“That’s not a problem. I can show you how to do it, but do you want to have sex with me?”
Nodding his head, David said, “I do. I’m just afraid of screwing it up and then the claiming won’t happen.”
Zane gathered his mate in his arms, holding him close and rubbing his back while thinking about what he was taught about claiming.
The last thing he wanted was for his mate not to enjoy sex because of his fear.
Then he remembered what his teacher had added at the end of the claiming lecture.
“Babe, I believe we can bite each other without having sex at the same time and it’ll still be a claiming.
Afterwards, I can teach you about the many ways we can enjoy each other’s bodies, if that will make you feel better. ”
“Really? Are you sure?” David asked, his words muffled by Zane’s chest.
“Yes, and you’ll know if it worked because there’ll be scars on both of us and you won’t have to worry about doing something wrong.”
Raising his head, David smiled. “I’d like that very much,” he said, adding, “Thank you for understanding.”
“Anytime, babe, anytime.”
~/~/~/~/~
Michael watched the locations of his men pop up on the computer screen, each a red dot on a map.
Selecting those closest to where he was going tonight, he sent each a text message giving the time and place they were to meet him.
Sick and tired of this wild goose chase, he should’ve done what he wanted to when David was found instead of letting Brenda have her way.
But no longer—David would be coming back to Italy with him.
Remembering Brenda’s tone of voice, Michael figured being ‘high priestess’ had gone to her head.
It was obvious she now believed her own bullshit, but he knew who she was—a fucking whore before he plucked her from the shithole she lived in and ‘ordained’ her.
If she couldn’t remember who she was talking to, he could always ‘excommunicate’ her and replace her with some other whore.
It was a different matter, though, with David who was a once in a lifetime find and could make him millions.
Looking at the map, Michael needed to plan this attack very carefully because it could go wrong in a heartbeat and he wasn’t willing to lose his prey due to some botched attempt.
After he settled on a plan, Michael made arrangements to ship his quarry out of Scotland on a freighter, sedated and bound, in a box.